From Cañada College to Congress: local Congressional Representative Ann Eshoo

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Cañada College, class of '75, now represents the area where she lives and attended college. She earned an Associate of Arts in English from Cañada College within a decade of the college's official opening. Congresswoman Eshoo serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, the first woman in the history of the Subcommittee to serve in a leadership role.Congresswoman Eshoo works to expand high-speed, affordable broadband, protect electronic privacy as well as an open internet and to ensure net neutrality protections. She also serves as a co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus. Read more about Congresswoman Eshoo and her political career here.

Sign up for email updates from Congresswoman Eshoo here or visit her Palo Alto office at 698 Emerson St. Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact Congresswoman Eshoo at 650-323-2984 or 408-245-2339 or 831-335-2020. The fax number is 650-323-3498.

Federal and state elected officials

Who represents you in government? What do they vote on? Find out who to contact here in the federal level in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives and the state level in the California assembly and state senate.

California has 53 representatives out of 453 in the United States Congress. Two of California's 53 congressional representatives represent San Mateo County; Anna Eshoo and Jackie Speier. San Maeo County falls in both the 14th and 18th Congressional Districts

Congresswoman Jackie Speier represents residents from portions of San Francisco and San Mateo counties. Her local office is at 155 Bovet Road, Suite 780, San Mateo. Phone numbers are (650) 342-0300 and (415) 566-5257. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Local government: City councils and county supervisors

Whether a dog park is open on Sundays is one of the many decisions local government officials make that affect your neighborhood. Attend a city council or planning commission meeting to hear the discussions behind each decision with an outcome you can see.

County boards of supervisors and city councils usually meet twice a month on the same day of the week, such as the second and fourth Thursdays, or the first and third Tuesdays. You can receive agendas and meeting notices by email and can often watch meetings online or on YouTube. Follow the links below to sign up.

Each of California's 58 counties is governed by a board of supervisors. San Mateo County supervisors meet the first and third Thursdays at 9 a.m. in the Hall of Justice, 400 County Center, Redwood City.

The five-member Menlo Park City Council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesdays in the City Council Chambers, 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park.

File a Freedom of Information Act request

Can't find the government information you are looking for but believe it exists somewhere? First, do a thorough search for the information or report you want. If you can't find it, and you think it exists, you can file a Freedom of Information Act request here.